Miss Me?
by quietEavesdropper
Summary: JohnKat story where something is forgotten at the worst moment. Jack is back and won't let everyone off so easily. Things get sticky as violence, language and some adult themes are sure to be present. Slight AU kind of things.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! So, I'm a bit rusty with my writing skills, so all reviews will be nice. I just wanted to share with others. Just be gentle with helping me fix things, I've never shared my works. Don't yell at me just yet either, I know my facts(most of them). This is only the first chapter. Thanks, love all you readers  
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**Without further ado I give you the story~**

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><p>The party had come to an end. It was quite sad as John had actually enjoyed himself, but everyone had left by now. This left just him and his roommate. Sadly the human was stuck with this burden for another year. It wasn't too bad other than his language. Usually Karkat kept to himself or left to go to work. He wasn't sure how that guy had ever found somebody to hire him, but John didn't complain. It was much better without him here after all. The grumpy troll didn't even say anything when everyone had left, which was slightly unlike him. Instead he merely left to retire to his bedroom.<p>

The apartment was a nice and cozy little place, consisting of two bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom and well that was it. Even if everything was a bit on the small side it never bothered John, although Karkat would complain about it when the chance came up. That guy never ceased his complaining, ever.

"Goodnight Karkat," he called cheerily. He couldn't not say goodnight, they needed to be on good terms, not bad terms. Last time that happened nothing good had come out of it. After getting a grumble of a response the human shrugged and retired to his own bedroom. Flopping onto his bed with a delighted sigh of relief he rolled onto his back.

It hadn't been a lot of people, just a few. Dave came with Terezi, those two were adorable together. Then came Rose and Kanaya, they claimed to be friends but everyone knew it was something more. Jade, Gamzee, and Tavros also stopped by. Feferi said that she had plans with Sollux, which meant those two were out. Nepeta and Equius had planned on going to the movies already, another two out. Eridan, well… nobody wanted him around ever so that was a definite out. Sometimes John felt bad for him, but he would still prefer to stay away. Aradia had to work at the book store down the street, but promised she'd try and come next time, one more out. That left Vriska, who never showed up even when invited as she always had her own plans to attend to, which made the last out. Yeah, that was all of them. Four humans, twelve trolls. But only five of the trolls had been around today.

Giggling to himself slightly John rolled back onto his stomach. He couldn't sleep at all with all this excitement. Maybe he'd watch Con Air? Oh wait no that would be a bad idea. John didn't want to wake Karkat up; he already couldn't even stand it in his own room when that guy was sleeping. All he ever did was have nightmares and scream. Claiming it was some troll thing the human often tried to ignore it. On some occasions he'd try to calm Karkat's dreams but all had ended with the troll screaming at John to leave.

Giving a gentle sigh he sat up and looked at the wall separating their rooms. Karkat wasn't asleep though; usually he was asleep by now. Slipping off the bed John made his way over to the wall, hearing a faint noise from the other side. It sounded muffled by not just this wall. Pressing an ear to the cold wall the human leaned close, blue eyes shutting to concentrate. It sounded weird, almost like he was crying. Freezing at the thought John withdrew from the wall. No, Karkat wouldn't be crying, why would he? The conflicting questions started to echo in his head. He felt bad just for eavesdropping on the other boy. More questions raced through his mind. Could trolls even cry? Was it just in his dream? Did Karkat even have any emotion other than anger? The questions slowed as he started piecing things together.

"Fuck," he mouthed as his eyes darted back to the wall. Today had been Karkat's birthday and nobody had said a single "Happy Birthday".


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello hello, another chapter. I had some free time so I wrote another one I hope people actually like this. D: John may seem like an asshole, but he gets better I swear! Karkles on the other hand, don't be too silly. So then, here is chapter 2. I hope these aren't terrible, eek.**

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><p>Slamming his fist into the soft pillow beside him the sobbing troll tried his best not to yell outside of the pillow. No fucking body liked him. None of those so called fucking friends of his had even bothered to remember he existed tonight. Not even his fucking asshole of a roommate. Fuck, of course people didn't like him. Karkat was aware that he couldn't control his temper and was constantly spilling profanities, but it still made him feel lonely.<p>

Rolling onto his back he kept the pillow on his face, fearing that all this sobbing wouldn't go unnoticed. That was the last thing he wanted. If that asshole Egderp found out he wasn't sure how he'd handle it. That asshat would spill a whole slew of apologies, attempted hugs, and a look of pity; all of which made Karkat sick to his stomach. No. The hugs he didn't mind, but he felt ashamed for ever feeling so. Egderp actually seemed to care most times, but after the last time he'd been yelled at he had stayed away from the troll. It was so lonely.

Removing the pillow for a breath of fresh air he closed his eyes. They weren't red yet. By now all of the other trolls had their irises stained by the color of their blood. Once that happened to him Karkat could only count the days until his fated death. This mutant blood that coursed through his body was repulsive to everyone but the humans. Fucking humans didn't know anything though. They didn't seem to understand the hierarchy of the bloods. Jegus fuck, no. Stop thinking. Nobody knew about his blood color yet, so it was fine.

The troll had managed to lower his sobs once again when he had to gasp for air. Sometimes he felt like maybe he just shouldn't remove the pillow. It would save everyone a lot of trouble. Gog fucking dammit, nobody cared in the first place.

Perhaps coming to Earth had been a horrible fucking idea. Gamzee had begged him to come in his own juaggalo way. Being his morail he couldn't let him down, he had to protect him, but now that asshole didn't even remember Karkat was around or even had a wriggling day. He was too busy with his matesprite Tavros. If they hadn't come here maybe this wouldn't have happened.

An idea struck him, returning to Alternia. He knew nobody else would be on board, but if it was just him then there was no harm done. Karkat could almost swear nobody would even notice. Granted that it was probably still a bit on the dangerous side, as Jack was hanging around, but nonetheless it was better than staying here.

Shoving the now red tinted pillow away the troll wiped the rest of his tears off, having stopped his sobbing. He wasn't as strong as people made him out to be. Yes he was an asshole to everyone, but that was his way of communicating. It wasn't like he always meant what he said, he just said it. Apologies weren't in his nature either so those would not be spoken or even thought up. It did leave him lonely and nervous but he didn't let others know and usually just shooed them all away.

Karkat glanced at the wall, no obnoxious John tonight. It wasn't totally unusual, as the asshole could either be dead asleep from all that excitement or he'd be planning to watch one of his stupid movies. It always woke him up, but that was okay. The troll never got any decent sleep in the first place, but he did always flip on John for it anyways. It kept their little relationship simple and known. If it changed then both of them would be confused. It wasn't like they hated each other, they were just somewhat jerks to the other. Although John wasn't actually an asshole, he was really nice and always upbeat even when the worst was happening. Damn, how did he do it?

Setting the pillow to the side he slipped off his bed. Perhaps he just needed to wash up his face and try to get some sleep. This kind of sucked, perhaps he'd just move out without telling the derp in the other room. Deciding to think about it more in the morning he made his way to the bathroom.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello my dearest readers! 3 I know you probably hate these notes but I put them here anyways. Hehe. Sorry if this seems so disconnected, it jumps perspectives if you haven't got that by now. Also I feel like I'm making John seem a bit of a jerk, but have no fear they all get better. ^^ Here is the next update though.**

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><p>John paused to think about it a little more. No, trolls had 'Wriggling Days' as Karkat had put it. He was still a bit numb about all this troll business. Even so this was probably an awful feeling even for the fuckass in the other room. Most times everyone left him alone because it was always a hassle to deal with his swearing and antics. Even so he felt terrible.<p>

Standing slowly he placed a hand on the wall. If he tried to go over there and console him or even begin to apologize it would only result in shit tons of yelling from the other. He felt awful, it wasn't like he hated Karkat at all, but more the other way around. John really had tried to be good friends with the troll, but everything had just turned sour.

Chewing his lip nervously he paced a bit. The crying sounded like it had dulled down or ended. Perhaps he'd cried himself to sleep. He was aware that he wasn't always very nice to the other, but it was only because he was sick of all the complaining. If Karkat didn't complain that much then John might actually like talking with him.

Shaking off the thoughts he determined he should go check in the troll, even if he was going to get yelled at. Although it was too late to have a birthday, or Wriggling Day, party he would still make it up to him, somehow. Starting off to the other's room he heard some movement. Egbert paused to peek around the corner. Nothing. That was a bit strange but he ignored it and proceeded to Karkat's room. The door was open so he just peered inside, nothing? Stepping inside he sighed, where did he go? Turning around he was right there.

"What the fuck do you want Egderp?" he asked seeming to look even worse than usual, which was really tired. It was obvious he'd been crying despite the attempted looks of washing it off. Karkat was glaring at him, those black irises against the yellow of his eyes that replaced the human trait of white. It was probably one of the most intimidating things ever. Yet today it was weak.

John paused, both just staring at each other for a few minutes it utter silence. "Karkat… I umm…" Before he could say anything else the clock rang out to the world to announce that it was midnight. Fuck, the trolls Wriggling Day was over and he probably felt even more like shit. Time flew by way too fast.

"Stop your mumbling dumbass; I'd like to get to bed." He was waiting? John was perplexed now, why was he waiting? Karkat wasn't one to be patient at all.

Shaking it off of him he grinned toothily at the other. "We need to hang out sometime soon." That was it? Fuck, that was all he could say? He was disgusted with himself.

The guy in front of him looked down, apparently not what he had anticipated. "Oh," he stated simply before pushing past John into his own room. "Whatever, just go to bed already John." He gently pushed him out of his room, definitely not Karkat now.

All he could do was stare at that door in disbelief. How was that even Karkat? It couldn't be him? Not with that attitude at least. Where was the anger? Biting the corner of his lower lip he finally looked away. John knew he'd messed up big time. It was too late to try and say anything now. Karkat had given him a chance, one fucking chance and he'd just screwed it right up. Fuck, maybe he should just get to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Short chapter! ^^' That's all I have to say, love you all!**

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><p>Karkat had made a weak attempt to make it seem like he hadn't been crying, but it was clear that he had been. Staring into the mirror at himself he bit his lower lip. Even he was beginning to pity himself. Was he really this pathetic that everyone he knew had forgotten?<p>

Shaking the thoughts away he left the bathroom before he punched the mirror. He hoped he was just overreacting like people said he did. Seeing John's door open made the troll pause but he continued on, ignoring it.

Standing in the doorway to his room was the boy waiting for him."What the fuck do you want Egderp?" he growled, trying to sound threatening. It probably wasn't going to work or convince John, but he could try.

John had paused, leaving them to stare at each other for a few minutes it utter silence. "Karkat… I umm…" He was stuttering, so fucking annoying but cute. The bell for midnight sounded and he felt his heart drop. There went his Wriggling Day, completely wasted and not a word from anyone.

"Stop your mumbling dumbass; I'd like to get to bed." Fuck, alright he would give the guy a chance. It wasn't like he knew what time it was. Did he realize the mistake? Probably not, but Karkat secretly hoped that the human had.

John was grinning at him, which made him feel a bit fuzzy on the inside. "We need to hang out sometime soon." Karkat felt his heart skip a beat. Fuck. That was all? Yeah it was nice to hear him say they needed to hang out, but that still hurt.

Karkat looked down slowly. "Oh," he stated simply before pushing past John into his own room. "Whatever, just go to bed already John." Weakly pushing John out the troll closed the door.

No, that was ridiculous for him to ever think that any grace would be handed to him. It was over. He would leave tomorrow, screw that asshole. For now he needed sleep and hopefully not have a nightmare on his last night here.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! So, I like reviews. o/o They can be anonymous. Sorry that the talking below is so weird. I realize my writing isn't too great. Oh and this story isn't just John and Karkat, others are definitely going to be added. 3 Advice is good too. Any pairings you guys would like to see? You can send me a pm. Erk, sorry, back to story now.**

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><p>John didn't sleep at all. He'd tried his hardest to do as the troll had advised him. It just irked him so much. He didn't like knowing he was causing such pain to the other. God. The entire was spent looking up at his feeling, the sinking feeling in his stomach just getting worse, especially when Karkat's nightmares kicked in. The screams were sharper than daggers tonight. Why did he have to act like such a dick to the guy? Hanging out was not a great way to try to compensate for such an important thing being missed, right?<p>

Rolling onto his side he stared at the wall. For once he didn't know what to do or how to get help for it. He grabbed his laptop and logged onto pesterchum. Rose was on, as always.

-ectoBiologist [EB] began pestering tentacleTherapist [TT] at 3:28-

EB: rose I need help.

TT: What have you done today?

EB: i umm…

TT: John?

TT: What do you need at this ridiculous time of night?

EB: well I know you're always on at this time.

EB: because of you and that grimdark thing.

TT: Well what do you need?

TT: Roommate problems again?

EB: actually yeah.

TT: Mmhmm… I thought so.

EB: urk!

TT: John you better just tell me what you did.

EB: well I sort of forgot it was Karkat's bir- Wriggling Day.

TT: Was that yesterday?

TT: Well this is dreadful indeed.

EB: wait wait you didn't know either?

TT: No, I was not aware.

EB: shit

TT: I believe there is a high chance that nobody remembered it John.

EB: that's what I was afraid of.

EB: i caught him crying Rose.

EB: CRYING!

TT: …

EB: rose you have to help me!

EB: i've screwed this up so bad.

TT: John you must realize that I cannot continue helping your relationships for much longer.

EB: …uh yeah sorry Rose.

TT: Do not worry, I will help this time.

TT: After all, I understand what it's like.

EB: huh?

TT: Simple, you like Karkat.

EB: fuck! what are you going on about now?

TT: I see my mistake. You have yet to realize much, we have quite a lot of work to do.

EB: you're confusing me Rose. please explain?

TT: In good time. For now keep an eye on him and try to hang out with Karkat a little more.

EB: ugh, fine.

TT: I must go, Kanaya calls.

-tentacleTherapist[TT] ceased pestering ectoBiologist [EB] at 3:40-

This was no good. John stared at his screen for a minute before closing it. Rose was being a bit off from her usual self. Then again everyone knew she was with Kanaya, they fit together so well.

Jumping at a shriek from the troll in the other room he stood. The human placed a hand on the wall, wanting to comfort the other somehow. All his attempts had been pushed away and the one time they weren't he fucked it up.


	6. Chapter 6

**I wrote another chapter today. ^^ Sorry, I've just been writing a lot. Do you think I should just only give you one chapter a day or whenever I end up writing them? Also, I love everyone who reads this. You're all so encouraging.  
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><p>Karkat woke with a start, finding he was screaming as he was tearing himself from the dreams. Panting heavily he looked around him to confirm he was just fine and wasn't actually in the situation he'd dreamed up. Lifting his hand to his face he frowned, crying in his sleep was so pathetic. Even if he'd already been crying in his sleep it wasn't stopping. Fuck. At least Egderp hadn't bothered him tonight. Biting on his lip until it bled the mutant red blood he shook the thoughts away. Of course that asshole wouldn't try to comfort him. Yesterday was enough proof that his roommate cared nothing for him.<p>

The troll gave a soft whimper and curled up into a tight ball. He wished that he had his respiteblock or at least the recuperacoon. The recuperacoon had all of the spoor slime that helped keep out the nightmares. These nightmares would never end.

Fuck. He couldn't stay here any longer. It was already apparent all he was doing was causing shit loads of problems for everyone. They'd all just rejoice when they were ridded of him. The thought caused him to whimper softly. Wiping his face on the pillow he continued to try and shake off all of these thoughts.

Crawling out of his bed like a grub would he flipped onto the floor, face planting. There, now he was half-way there. Groaning as he sat up Karkat gave a scowl at the room. It was pretty empty, hardly ever buying anything. Then again this meant he needed to quit his job. That was fine with him. Jobs were strange things, a human custom at least. All of these human customs made him uncomfortable. At least he'd reasoned with John not to keep a bucket in the house as it made him very uncomfortable in many ways. It had taken forever to try and explain all the troll customs and relationships to the human boy unlike how easily Rose and Jade got them, Dave just didn't care.

Pulling himself from the floor he glanced at the time. Only six? Fuck, at least it was more sleep than usual. The nightmares usually woke him up by five or John by the same time. Not that it mattered anymore. Today he was leaving, for good. Alternia would once more be home to him, even if Jack was still around.

Karkat looked about the room which hadn't changed from when he'd looked around a few minutes ago. Standing slowly he grabbed a backpack and began to shove some clothes into it. Nothing much but enough, he'd left room for food of course. Fumbling around the room he found his wallet as well and shoved it into his pockets, as he had dressed himself. This was not going to be an easy journey. There would be no goodbyes, well… maybe a note. Grabbing a piece of paper he wrote 'Goodbye' on it before placing it on his bed. There. All set. Just grab some food and leave.

Making as little noise as possible, as he didn't want to wake up the asshole, the troll found his way to the kitchen and loaded his bag with some food that wouldn't go bad on him. Human food was a bit strange but he'd gotten used to it. It would be nice however to return to Alternia and have everything back.

With his bag now packed fully he glanced around the place one last time and sighed. This was it. Karkat slowly made his way to the front door and slipped out. Now free. He was free. His heart raced for a minute, he knew he was going to miss the John human but it'd be okay. John hadn't really liked him anyways.

Starting off he felt a smile cross his face for a second, but it vanished when he remembered why he was leaving.


	7. Chapter 7

**3 sjaakjbajd…. I love knowing people like this. 8D So I wrote another chapter. Eeee… I love you all. Do you all really like it? :c Because I do put effort into this.  
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><p>John had eventually fallen asleep when the screaming had died off. He didn't question it for a second, any minute of sleep he got here was graciously welcomed. In fact he even slept peacefully. But by the time he woke it was ten o'clock and there were no sounds about the home. Groaning he pushed off his blankets and looked at the Nic Cage calendar on his wall. It was Saturday so Karkat wasn't working. It would be strange for him to be awake… So what was it?<p>

Then again Karkat could have just gone out for the day, nothing to worry about right? His buck teeth bit down lightly on his lower lip. Then again after yesterday there was the- no. No no no. Definitely not. The human groggily dressed himself in his white shirt with the slime beast on it. Ah yes, Japanese knock offs were great. Pulling on a pair of pants he stretched. Still no noise? Yes… this was rather unlike Karkat.

John started on his way to check on the troll. Granted that if he was actually here he'd be yelled at but that was fine by him. The door to Karkat's room was ajar so he took advantage of it and kicked it open. Empty. More empty than usual at that. There was literally nothing of the trolls in here. Well unless you counted bed sheets and a red stained pillow. Wait… red? Looking over the pillow in confusion he remembered that trolls had different color blood and also cried that color. So weird. But Karkat had red blood? He'd had no clue… Then again he had never said or talked about it.

John's eye caught something in his peripheral vision and reached out to grab it. A piece of paper that was blank? That was a bit strange. Turning it over he froze at the single word that had been written on it. Sitting down on the bed he continued staring at the paper. Karkat was gone? Just gone? But when had he left? Fuck no, that wasn't important right now. What was important was why he had left and where he was going. He knew the answer to one of those questions ringing in his head.

His roommate had left because everyone he knew had forgotten his birthday, but that wasn't all of it. No. They had all just started ignoring him quite some time ago. It made the human cringe of what it must have felt like. Dam he was an idiot for not seeing all of this sooner. Now he was gone and he had no idea where he was going.

Quickly standing he squeezed the paper tightly in his hand. He had to find him and apologize for real this time. No wimping out today. None of this asshole treatment. Well first he'd need some leads. Perhaps contacting the other trolls would help. Glancing around the room again he noticed that the troll had left his laptop here. Great there was probably no way to contact him. At least they had the same friends so that would be easier.

Returning to his room he pulled up pesterchum once more. He couldn't decide who to contact first, as there were so many trolls as it was. Then again he could also talk to Jade or Rose; they always seemed to catch onto things… but apparently not always. Staring at the screen he looked at the one name not logged on. It was making his stomach churn to know that Karkat had left mostly because of him. Fuck… he'd really screwed it up this time.


	8. Chapter 8

**Heh and you thought it would be Karkat's turn again? Don't be silly! We're back with John again. Hehe, we probably won't be going back to Karkat for awhile. Sorry everyone.**

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><p>Reaching up to his cheek he placed a hand there to feel the cool liquid run through his fingers. Tears… When was the last time he'd felt so miserable? It suddenly made him regret everything he'd ever said or done to that troll. No. He hadn't really been an asshole at all. The worst part was John was only realizing all of this now. Karkat didn't mean to be so snappy all the time it was just his way of speaking. All the trolls had their little quirks and all so this was making some sense… only too late.<p>

Continuing to stare down at the screen he selected a name he would normally contact on his own. Gamzee Makara. He had better fucking have some idea where his best bro was. If not this would all be a complete waste of time as it was always a pain to get information from the stoned troll.

-ectoBiologist[EB] began pestering terminallyCapricious[TC] at 10:27-

EB: gamzee I need your opinion on something.

TC: hEy mY MoThErFuCkInG BrO

TC: wHaT CaN I Do fOr yOu

EB: where would Karkat go if he decided to leave?

TC: wHat dO YoU MeAn

EB: uhh… if he ran away where would he go?

TC: oH

TC: wElL My fInE MoThErFuCkInG FrIeNd hE WoUlD PrObAbLy gO HoMe

EB: you mean back to Alternia?

TC: i dOnT MoThErFuCkInG KnOw

TC: wHeReVeR HoMe iS FoR HiM

EB: oh ok then.

EB: thanks Gamzee

TC: nO MoThErFuCkInG PrObLeM

-ectoBiologist[EB] stopped pestering terminallyCapricious[TC] at 12:37-

Fuck. Gamzee had been of some help but at the same time none at all. Not to mention his writing pattern was really weird. For now John needed to think about where home was for Karkat and why. Yeah, like he had any idea what was going on in that guy's head? That had already proven wrong by the most recent events.

Staring a little longer at the list of online trollslums he scratched his head. Who else should he even talk to? Who would know where Karkat would find home to be? "Vriska? Hell no. Nepeta? I'd rather not speak about Karkat to her, bad idea. Eridan? No. Equius? Uhh…. No. Tavros? Maybe. Aradia? Probably not. Sollux? Kind of an asshole so maybe. Gamzee? Just talked to him. Feferi? She probably wouldn't know. Terezi? Ugh, no. Kanaya? Yes, need to talk to her." John knew Kanaya was probably the kindest person to Karkat ever, but even she had overlooked his bir-Wriggling Day. Yes there was some conversation where Karkat had told him she was his "other best friend."

-ectoBiologist[EB] began pestering grimAuxiliatrix[GA] at 10:54-

EB: hey Kanaya

GA: Hello John

GA: Is There Anything I Can Do For You

EB: yes there is!

GA: Do Tell

EB: where would you say Karkat's home to be?

GA: Tough Question

GA: I Can Assure You He Would Not Think It To Be On Earth

EB: so what does that mean?

EB: alternia?

GA: I Am Assuming So

GA: From What Rose Has Told Me About Yesterday I Am Guessing He Ran Off

EB: oh um… yeah.

GA: If You Do Find Him Which I Highly Doubt You Will Do Tell Him Im Sorry

EB: sure Kanaya

EB: thanks for the help

GA: Of Course John

EB: see you around then

-ectoBiologist[EB] stopped pestering grimAuxiliatrix[GA] at 11:19-


	9. Chapter 9

**Oh man! I'm so sorry guys. My computer got rid of my Microsoft Word and I couldn't do anything until my dad sent it to me. Urk. Well, anyways. 3 I love you all still! I can't believe people love this. D: Here is some Karkat, to make up for it… even if I said I was gonna skip over him for awhile. Also I might start up a new story soon. Yet I can't decide on who it will be about. We'll see. I have a life after all.**

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><p>So perhaps leaving on such a cold winter night was not the best idea for such a young blight. The troll wasn't happy, not even just slight. No, he was considering his own death. Suicide was what the humans called it. They had such strange words and it was still all too confusing even now. They even had a word for guys liking each other. Which was funny as John claimed he wasn't one of these "homosexuals". Yet if anyone was to even stop and consider it that was total bull.<p>

Karkat gritted his teeth, as least it was night on Alternia. As long as he managed to find his place before sunrise everything would be fine. The sun was just too strong here, as it was closer. Kanaya was weird with liking the sun and actually finding it wasn't insufferable.

Growling deeply as he looked over the cliff he realized that he might have to go around. Not cool. Hearing something above the troll froze and ducked behind a rock. Swearing in his head Karkat looked around finding he was shaking. After that monster had pretty much killed all of the trolls to the point where only twelve remained there was a good reason to be fearful. Normally he wouldn't be so scared, but right now he was alone… no he was going to be alone for a long time.

Biting down on his lower lip he cautiously peeked out from behind the rock cluster. Nothing. Sighing in relief that he hadn't been spotted he returned to the problem at hand, getting around the cliff. Well that or finding a safer way around. That would definitely be wise. And he liked to know that he was "oNe sMaRt mOtHeRfUcKeR" as Gamzee always put it. Cringing at the thought of that fuckass he climbed over a large rock.

There would be no more of those assholes. All over. No more of them. Finding a decent path to climb up this lovely cliff. If only none of this had happened, but sadly it couldn't be helped. Everything had just shot down into the hell hole he liked to call Earth. Lucky for him this was easy climb, even if a tad steep. Worst part was the sleeping issue here. Finding a hiding spot where his screams wouldn't alert the presence of the being who loomed in Alternia was going to be hell.

After reaching the top of the cliff he fell onto his back panting from exhaustion. Okay okay he wasn't really that fit. All those years on Earth had really put in out of shape. At least he didn't get chubby; he was still the tiniest of all of the trolls. Which was fucking annoying if he had anything to say about it. Closing those black and yellow eyes for a moment he took a deep breath. This was it, he was in Alternia and there was no turning back.

Opening his eyes slowly as he felt something slide into his side Karkat tried to scream. The face of that bastard was glaring down at him with a grin plastered onto that face. Before he managed to do or say anything he was gone. Jack was gone. He'd stabbed Karkat and left. This was it. The troll felt like he was going to die. How could he not? He deserved this. After everything he'd done and how many people he'd pissed off… not to mention how many millions had been killed all because of him. It was fine… he deserved this.


	10. Chapter 10

**Short chapter y'all. ^^ Not a whole lot to say about it so have at it. Also, am I really doing alright with this? :c I feel like my writing is really terrible.**

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><p>John had spoken with every single troll by the end of the two days Karkat had been gone. It was obvious by now he was not coming back. By now many others were concerned and insisted they all go out to find him. Rose and Kanaya were both on the side that leaving him to be would probably do none of them any good. For some reason they had some silent idea that they refused to share with everyone else. In just a few more minutes everyone else would be here. Everyone who cared that was.<p>

The human had also somehow allowed himself to speak with Eridan to see if he had any clues. Much to his chagrin he did. Why he knew something was beyond what John could comprehend right now. Complete overload was how this situation felt at the moment. For these two days of the fuckass being gone it felt empty like something was missing. It was irritating as John couldn't even sleep without thinking of the bastard.

Fiddling with the string on his hoodie he looked around the room nervously. He'd never realized how much of this shit was his but now that he had stared at everything for two days nonstop he realized that Karkat seriously hadn't bought anything. It made him wonder if the troll had ever considered this place home, probably not. It made his stomach churn to think about it. John hadn't done shit to even make the troll feel welcome which made him feel even worse about this mess.

Hearing a knock at the door allowed John to finally stop his mind from making him feel even shittier. How that was possible was beyond him. Standing to answer the door it swung open with a kick from his best friend who was carrying the blind troll. "Hey Egderp, everyone is downstairs already," the blond kid stated in his usual chill manner.

"What? Already?" He paused the think about it before following after the two downstairs. Then again now that he checked his watch it was quite late. "How long has everyone been waiting?"

"For almost half an hour John," Dave stated with a shrug as he finally set Terezi down.

Looking between each troll then the humans John bit his lip. "Well… I think we should start going now." He already feared the worst for what could happen to that troll. With everyone's help it'd been narrowed down to a few places in Alternia, mainly his hive. After they all nodded in agreement, save for a few begrudging members of the party, they all started off. The person in the lead was actually Vriska, who was hissing under her breath about how stupid Karkat was being. Still, occasionally she'd bite her lip or look down when nobody was looking, but John could tell she cared. It was a bit strange for everyone to be together like this, but it was nice even without one person. That snarky bastard would pay for all of this worry over him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Goodness me where have I been? Well midterms came up and I have awful grades. Ajskajbsds… Oh well, here is another one of my short boring chapters that nobody reads. Whooo.**

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><p>Vriska hadn't even stopped to give any one of them rest. No, she was nonstop barking orders at them to hurry their asses up before she bit them off. John was just as eager to find the troll. Eridan was incessantly complaining, which was getting on everybody's nerves. At some point Equius had asked Gamzee for permission to make him shut up and Feferi. Both had graciously granted it and soon enough the glubbing stopped. Eridan had been driving them all mad by now.<p>

Right now they had just gotten to Alternia and were dividing themselves into groups. Considering how large this place was it would take forever if they all stuck together. The first group was made up of Gamzee, Tavros, Eridan, and Equius. The second was Feferi, Kanaya, Rose, and Nepeta. The third was Dave, Terezi, Sollux, and Aradia. Finally John was accompanied by Jade and Vriska. With that everyone would soon split up into groups. Everyone still had their weapons from when they had been in the game.

"We'll have to have a place to meet up and check in at progress," John said with a scowl as each one of them brandished their weapons.

"Wow that actually sounds like a good idea, Egderp." Dave said sarcastically and fixed his shades. He was doubtful of this search being fruitful of anything but trouble but considering John was his best friend he tagged along, Terezi in hot pursuit.

"Shut up Dave," he snapped back, obviously stressed and not going to tolerate any of his best friend's sarcasm. Dave merely shrugged and returned to Terezi, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"How about we meet at one of the troll hives around here?" Rose suggested with a raise of one of her eyebrows. "This way we all know where to meet back up." Always planning and thinking ahead, that was Rose.

The rust blood slowly raised his hand and Gamzee patted his head, understanding what the little guy was going to say. "Well Tavbro's hive is just over those hills, motherfuckers. So I motherfucking suggest we meet there." Nodding as if to confirm nobody should disagree.

Rose seemed to pause at the notion. "Does everyone know how to get there?" she asked in a skeptical way. Looks were exchanged and she let out a deep sigh. "Then we should all take a good long rest before continuing our search." Looking at Kanaya who smiled with agreement the others slowly grumbled into agreement. "Not like we can all do much when the sun rises here anyways." Looking back to the little troll hiding behind Gamzee she smiled softly. "Would you like to lead us there Tavros?"

At first Tavros was a bit in shock, but then nodded with a little grin of excitement. For one he was glad he hadn't been told it was a stupid idea, and he also wanted to see if Horsaroni was still around. It was likely he wasn't, but who could tell. "R-right this way then." He started off, Gamzee following behind. Those legs that Equius had made sure did do the trick. Tavros wasn't fond of Karkat, not at all really, but he knew that Gamzee was morails with him so he felt the need to tag along. Not many people could stop Gamzee from causing harm so it was Karkat or lots of dead trolls.

Everyone had a different reason for coming, they all knew that and accepted that. It was probably more guilt than anything, but that was over. Now they needed to rest up for the next gog knows how long. Finding the grumpy troll in the vast lands of Alternia was not going to be a fun trip. Not at all.

As everyone settled into the hive Vriska took first watch, which surprised most but none complained. Tavros was happy to have his respiteblock and Gamzee joined him. Once everyone fell asleep the last troll smirked. "And so it all begins."


	12. Chapter 12

**Aww… I love you guys. 3 This is kind of a dull chapter, sorry. :c I won't even be home until Sunday, so who knows when I will update next. I'll try not to give up on this just yet.  
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><p>During the night a bunch of people had taken on shifts to keep on the look for any sign of trouble. By the time night came around everyone was up and ready to go. John was sitting off by himself before they were to head out. To be honest he was feeling miserable about this search. He was scared they wouldn't find the grumpy troll, or worse he'd be dead.<p>

Jumping as a hand touched his shoulder he looked up to see his sister. "John, you don't look well." Sitting next to him she crossed her arms and looked at him worriedly. "Perhaps you should stay here until we all get back from today's search…"

Quickly shaking his head he bit his lower lip. "No Jade, I have to help. I have to find him." He scowled at the look she was giving him. "I'm not staying. You can't stop me from looking for him, I will find him," he protested with a nod. The determined look he gave her made his sister sigh and stand up.

"Fine John, but if you pass out or anything happens I tried." Giving him once stern look she huffed and went to find Vriska so they could drag John's butt out of here and start the search. Gamzee had already taken his group and left, and Dave was about to drag his group out. Nepeta and the rest of her group were consulting the map of Alternia that they'd found. Gamzee was headed north and Dace was headed south. Feferi pointed to the west, which had some watery areas and smiled. "Let's take this way."

The entire group nodded in agreement before sending Rose to inform Jade, Vriska and John to head east towards the mountainous area. Rose found John by himself still, as Jade and Vriska were upstairs. Patting him on the head affectionately she sat by him. "So I believe the girls and I will be handling the west. We suggest you head east and search the mountains."

John looked over at her and smiled with a nod. "Aright, that sounds good to me," he uttered before looking back to his feet.

"Cheer up John, we'll find him," she consoled. Rose knew why he was so upset, even when he didn't. This was fine with her, she wasn't going to tell him, but rather he needed to figure this whole mess out himself. Standing she gave his shoulder a firm squeeze before running to catch up with the other gals.

John felt his eyes following her before he sighed. The sooner they left the better. Grabbing Zillyhoo he finally stood up. Alright so he wasn't feeling the best but that was fine. He could manage. He'd rather say he tried looking than have to tell Karkat he hadn't looked for him at all, if they found him that was.

Jade and Vriska were finally back downstairs, weapons in hand. "Really Egbert?" Vriska hissed with a devilish grin. That grin always made him uneasy, but he gave he a look of 'stupid I was born ready.' With nothing else said they started off, Vriska in the lead, as she was a troll and knew Alternia, better than the two humans did that was.


	13. Chapter 13

**3 I love crack pairings… just saying. Oh, and I love you guys even more. Eeee….**

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><p>Alternia was an interesting place, then again with Vriska and Jade it made things much more so. Those two just kept going on and on and on. John did his best to keep up and not seem so down in the dumps. The human boy was starting to believe this was a complete waste of time. Considering everyone had agreed to meet up in three days time this would be a long trip in the first place.<p>

Vriska stopped and motioned for everyone to follow her, finger on lips. She sensed something, and even if she was a bitch she didn't ever seem to want Jade in trouble. It was odd when she heard Jade was coming the spider bitch signed herself in immediately and graciously offered to pair up with her and John. Yes, John knew something was up about those two, but he kept to himself.

As they hid under a little jut in the cliff Vriska peeked out to make sure things were clear. Zipping her head back in she searched her pockets for her dice, not that her luck would probably help her today. Resting her hand on Jade's the troll took a deep breath. The tingling feeling of their hands touching made the two girls look away quickly. "Hey douchebags," she hissed out. "I need you both to run that way up this damn cliff as soon as you hear anything. As soon as you find a hive, stay in there. I… need to do something, but I'll be back."

Jade's face scrunched up to resemble a scowl. "Vriska we don't know our way around here, we'd get lost." The troll gave an odd grin and patted the buck toothed girl on the head and nodded. It was silent for a moment before Vriska just left.

"Jade… do you know what this is about?" her brother asked as he waited for the sound. The sister shook her head and took his hand, squeezing it. Then after a couple minutes of silent hold handing between the siblings a crash rang out from the other side of the cliff.

Clambering out from under the hiding spot the two began their ascent. Neither of them bothered to try and figure out where that sound came from, they knew they wouldn't want to know. John had let go of Jade's hand so that they could climb without risking more problems. Slipping occasionally they finally reached the top.

Panting excessively Jade collapsed on the ground, it was a known fact she was not in the best of shape and was lazy. Her brother leaned over her to attempt to pick her up. The skinny lad failed and gave up. At least he needed to catch his breath as well, but they couldn't sit here for long.

Looking at everything around he spotted a hive right below another cliff. For some reason John felt the need to climb that cliff, but he couldn't say why. Grabbing his sister by the hand he pulled her to her feet. "Let's get going."

Jade nodded in agreement. "Can we rest there for the day? The sun will be up in an hour. That thing will take like… another whole day to climb," she said as they walked hand in hand to the odd hive.

Laughing a bit John grinned his toothy little smile. "It would only take that long if we took breaks every five seconds Jade." He stifled a laugh and shook his head. Yes, he could probably scale it in about half an hour. Which made him want to climb it even more. He felt it was important, really fucking important.

Reaching the hive which had seemed to take awhile they slipped inside. Both looked around nervously, troll houses were so weird.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey babes, I'm here with another update. 3 Just because I love you all.**

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><p>John rested his hand on his sister's shoulder. "I'm going to climb up that cliff," he stated blatantly causing her to scowl at him. Before she was able to protest he pulled Jade into a hug. "I'll be back, it'll be fine. You need rest." Peeking out the door he gave a nod. "Shouldn't take me long, stay put and wait for Vriska." He smiled encouragingly.<p>

Jade crossed her arms and huffed. "As long as you're back before the sun is up I'll stay put." The siblings looked at each other for a good long minute, words no longer needed for the concern and worry each expressed through their eyes.

Patting her on the head John shook his head, this was crazy of him. He wouldn't find anything up there, it would just be ridiculous and a complete waste of energy and time. Yet he needed to climb this cliff, he felt compelled to by every ounce in his body. As to why he had no clue.

Finally he hugged Jade one last time before waving to her and leaving the strange troll hive. As soon as he shut the door behind him the human took off running towards the cliff. What was up there? It made him stomach churn to look up at the top of this cliff, it definitely would take time to scale. It would be worth it to confirm that he wasn't going crazy or that he was... he had to do this.

Placing his hands on the cliff he looked around him again to make sure that there was nobody around or that his sister wasn't following, sometimes she did that even when he told her not to or that she could die. Such a bitch.

Attempting to scrabble up to the first ledge he grabbed a hold of it but the ledge crumbled in his hand. Fuck. Letting go quickly he grabbed onto another rock. Watching as the ledge fell apart as it hit the ground he scowled. Yes, only five feet up but he knew going back wasn't an option.

Once more he attempted to reach a ledge and grinned at the fact it wasn't giving in at the sudden weight. The human was about a fourth of the way up the cliff now and realized that he'd already spent a lot of his energy over today, which meant even if he didn't find something up there it would be hard to get back down. Jade could manage, after all he needed to climb.

John took a break after making the halfway mark, just panting as he looked around, keeping a look out for some sign of anything. After all this wasn't Earth, there could be anything out here. Alternia was troll land and those freaks seemed to have no problem killing in the first place.

Taking a deep breath he returned to climbing, keeping the steady pattern of left hand, right leg, right hand, then left leg. As long as that was the only thing he thought about he would reach the top in a matter of minutes now.

At last John could feel the soft grass of the top beneath his dirty covered fingers. Groaning he pulled himself all the way up and focused on his breathing now. Yeah, that was more work than he had wanted to do today. Man, he was more out of shape than he had believed.

Finally catching his breath the boy looked up at what awaited him here at the top of the ledge. A dead friend.


	15. Chapter 15

**Another little chapter because I'm nice and love you all.**

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><p>John rushed over the bloody figure lying on the ground before him. "No no no no no," he repeated over and over again as he shakily reached out a hand to rest on the small troll. "K-k... Karkat?" He let his hand travel to his own face to disturb the stream of tears beginning to fall down his cheeks. "Fuck..." He just sat there for a minute, trying to keep himself together. The troll couldn't just be dead, right? He was such a persistent bastard that the notion of him being gone was too much to handle.<p>

Rolling the tiny figure onto his back he had to cover his mouth to keep from vomiting. Karkat had been stabbed, fucking stabbed dammit. Perhaps... perhaps he really shouldn't have climbed that cliff. He hadn't wanted any of this to happen. If he had the option he'd reverse time to when they all met and change everything to how it should have been... None of this would have happened if... if he'd just welcomed Karkat and the others with open arms rather than begrudgingly. That must be part of the problem. The humans had never fully welcomed the trolls and Karkat must have felt terrible and returned here, well aside from the recent things such as completely ignoring he existed.

"Karkat p-please... please just be alive." John slowly reached out to place two fingers on the burnt grey skin; it must have burned in the heat of the sun, just under the troll's jaw line. Nothing, nothing, nothing, something. Snapping his eyes open the human looked down at the troll, so he was hardly alive? "Karkat, please..." He chewed his lip. The poor guy was still bleeding and not to mention was more than likely unconscious right now.

The hand traveled down the troll's body to the wound. It was deep, really deep. Fuck. Shit. Shit shit shit… Removing his shirt he attempted to keep the candy red blood from flowing even more. If Karkat lost even more blood he'd definitely be dead.

Slowly he tried to lift the frail body up, but being as tired as he was didn't work out too well. Panting after dragging the close to death troll to the edge of the cliff he looked down. Alright, this wasn't going to work out well. Swearing under his breath again he considered calling for Jade, but then decided against it. "Alright Karkat, we're going to get you inside." He bit his lip and looked around him once more. John couldn't see another hive in sight and the sun was close to rising.

Continuing to chew his lip he lifted the light body over his shoulders. It was either somehow get down to where Jade was or leave Karkat to certainly be dead by the next night. For one thing John didn't want to lose the troll, not ever again. So his only hope was that he could make it down the cliff.

Beginning the descent he made sure to not lose his footing, if he did it would all be over for both of them. On occasion it was hard to find a hole for his foot, and almost dropped the delicate troll lying over his shoulders many times. The trip was slow but it would be worth it to get the troll into safe hands and out of harm's way.

At last he reached the bottom, unable to catch his breath or rest for a moment. If he stopped the sun would certainly blind him and that would be that. Hearing his sister's voice call out in surprise and fear at the bloodied figure he carried she ushered them inside, helping to carry the little alien. Once inside they set Karkat down on the floor, John collapsing right there next to him, too tired to move another inch. The troll did need tending to, but Jade was here for that. So after receiving a pat on the back from his sister he drifted into a restless fit of nightmares.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey everyone. –places chapter and runs-**

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><p>John woke to a tap on his back. Groaning a bit he waved for the person to go away, but they didn't. No, they continued to prod him incessantly. Eventually he'd have to give in, but he just murmured something and pulled a blanket tighter around him, not even aware when he'd been given this. This person seemed to have given up and left him be, the human boy now happy to get back to sleep.<p>

After that he drifted back into those sweet little dreams of his. It didn't last long as a bucket of water was poured on top of him within the next minute which made him leap to his feet shivering. Gasping at the sudden wakeup call he glared at the person who had dared to pour water on him. It was Jade, who looked frustrated out of her mind. This immediately caused him to relinquish all of his anger, as he remembered what had taken place earlier.

"How is he?"he asked while searching the room around him for the close to death troll. His sister said nothing at first, just watching him as he tried to find him around the room. "Jade, come on! Where is he?"

After a minute she couldn't help it and sighed, sitting down and patting the spot next to her with a grin. "Oh relax, he's up in one of those troll bed cocoon things I found. They're pretty weird." She just wanted to tease him a bit; she was usually like this with him. Totally normal. "I don't know how you managed to get up that cliff and down again, with him to boot." Biting her lower lip she continued to watch over her brother as he nervously looked at the odd looking stairs that led upstairs.

Apparently deciding he could look in on the troll in a bit. As anxious as he was to check to make sure that insufferable brat was alright he knew Jade was trying her best to lighten his mood. "I'll have to go see it. I recall him complaining about something like that before." He shrugged, all he'd ever heard from Karkat had been complains. Yet, somehow he felt bad for telling him to shut up or ignoring him now. Ignoring her statement about the cliff he stared at his feet before sitting next to her.

"John, come on. Don't be so glum, please? For me?" The green eyed girl couldn't take her eyes off of him, concern filling both of them quickly. She could tell he was troubled, in pain, even blaming himself. When he ignored her request she stood quickly to loom over him. Lifting his face with a finger she glowered down at him. This seemed to stun the other human considerably. Jade was hardly ever rough and was usually all giggly and carefree. "John," she growled out his voice. "Do I need to tell you again?"

Slowly he shook his head. John knew exactly what she meant when she spoke those words. Her hand dropped to her side slowly as she slumped back onto the couch with a sigh. "Fine. I won't keep you any longer. Go on, go check on him." Waving her hand she made sure he understood she was shooing him away from her. John's mood was just too gloomy for her taste.

Smiling faintly he leaned over to kiss her cheek, uttering a light thanks as he stood. Without another word or another glance back he hurried to find where she had placed Karkat.


	17. Chapter 17

**Two in one day, you lucky people. ;)**

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><p>John climbed up the almost sideways looking staircase. He was eager to check on the troll, although he wasn't too sure why he was so anxious. All he knew was that he wanted Karkat to be alright. There was so much he wanted to tell him and ask him.<p>

Pausing in front of a hallway full of doors going everywhere he scowled. What was with this place? Alright, it was an alien/troll home but still, this was ridiculous. Whoever built this place must have been crazy.

Sighing he started to open doors and peek into the rooms. One was some sort of strange empty room that just had a staircase that led down forever, well at least from what John could see. The next one was a hallway that went on for quite a long ways. Quickly moving on he checked the next door which led to another door. Frustrated he kicked down that door. To his surprise it didn't lead to another door but rather a cozy looking room.

Glancing about the room the human decided it would be good to explore inside. Inside there were posters, those optical illusion ones at that. It made his eyes hurt to look at them. Glancing around the room there were more oddities before he spotted what Jade had earlier described as an troll bed, which looked very much like a cocoon.

Moving towards it slowly he peeped inside of the cocoon. The small troll was lying in a huge thing of slime. It was disgustingly adorable. At least he wasn't dead. Smiling faintly he reached in to pull Karkat out of the thing. The troll was covered in the slime, but at the moment that didn't matter to the human. Sitting on the floor once he'd pulled the fragile troll out he held him close. "I'm sorry," he murmured before inspecting the patch job Jade had done. Not really all that great, but it slowed the bleeding. Leaning in close to him the human listened for the breathing of the other. Faint, it was very faint. Biting his lip he sat back up.

Determined to make sure Karkat recovered he decided to stay with him. It would mean not moving too much but it would be worth it. Jade could always bring him food anyways, right? Right. The determination set in and he got comfortable, still holding the troll close to him. John was not about to let go again. How he'd realized that he needed this asshole in his life was a mystery to him, but he knew he needed him and that was that. No more arguing or anything else needed.

Hearing a noise in the hallway he glanced at the doors he'd neglected to close. A figure appeared in the doorway, just the silhouette for a second before stepping forward. There stood Jade once more with a slight frown on her face. "Well geez, possessive much?" She shook her head and smiled. Sitting next to them the girl placed a hand on Karkat's forehead. "I'm not going to lie to you John, he isn't doing any better at all." Not looking up to see his heartbroken filled eyes she looked away at one of the posters. "I know I know, don't even start to bagger me about it." Slowly she allowed her eyes to wander back to him and sighed. "John, before you say anything I just want you to know that there isn't anything we can do. It's not like we even know how trolls work or what their body issues are, right? So… I just want to keep him alive until Vriska gets back. From there we can decide what happens, ok?" Her brother said not a word the entire time. This concerned her but she finally grabbed his chin and lifted it to see why. The boy was crying, looking pained.

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><p><strong>What's this? Did you really think I would be so nice? Hah! You misjudge me dear readers. 3<strong>


	18. Chapter 18

**Love you all. So here is yet another chapter, cranking these bitches out like no tomorrow. Sorry they are all so short. -shrug-**

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><p>Jade had left John as he seemed to become completely distraught by her news. Karkat... wasn't going to make it after all. He probably wouldn't even wake up at all. No, he was just going to die without knowing how sorry the boy was for everything, ever. The way that Jade had said it made him realize there was no way to get around it. She'd tried to protect him the best she could from the harsh fact but it had only made things worse. The human was in complete denial over the dying troll. He couldn't lose him, he just couldn't.<p>

John cradled the small figure in his arms. The sobbing had quieted down but the tears never stopped. Why did this have to happen? Why hadn't he paid more attention to the whining? Was that the only way Karkat had known how to talk? Pushing back the questions before too many flooded his mind he closed his eyes.

Taking a deep breath he stood, still holding onto the troll. No, he wasn't going to give up. He was not going to give up. He needed to speak with Jade about getting back to the hive they had all agreed to meet up at. Granted Vriska hadn't caught up but if they met with the others surely somebody had a way to save Karkat. That was the only thing on his mind right now.

Unable to leave the troll's side for even a second he decided not to place him back in the cocoon thing. That slime made him rather suspicious in the first place. Whether it was healthy or not he didn't care to find out. Perhaps it was some drug slime or whatever, but for now he just needed to find his sister.

Making his way through the strange fun house styled hive John managed to find his way back to the somehow normal appearing living room. Well, he didn't know if it actually was a living room but he was just going to call it that for fuck's sake.

John spotted his sister sitting on the couch deep in thought. Planting himself next to her he smiled, setting Karkat in his lap. The crying was hardly visible now, but one could tell he had been crying earlier. "Hey," he said softly.

Looking up at him he noticed she'd been crying too, but he wasn't so sure why. "Hi," she said before hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry." She was trying not to sob into his shirt, he could tell.

"Whoa, whoa... relax Jade. It's okay. I have an idea." John ran a hand through her hair, attempting to calm her down in any way possible. It was difficult for sure but it had to be done no matter what.

"An i-idea?" she inquired as she sat up, rubbed her eyes to keep the tears inside. "What is it?"

"Well, how about we go back to the meeting hive?" Before she could say anything he continued, "it wouldn't take long and I don't think Vriska is going to come back." He bit down on his lip. Wrong words. He watched as Jade became flustered at the very idea. "Jade please... I just." John looked down at the unconscious troll. He'd probably never be able to listen to the asshole speak again.

Feeling a hand on his shoulder he looked up at Jade who was pushing back her anger. "Then we leave now. The sun set not too long ago." Standing quickly she ran about the hive seeming to gather a couple things. She returned and set them next to her brother. "We'll be needing a few things to make sure we survive the trip back, him included." Jade made a quick gesture at Karkat then they nodded to each other. It was decided


	19. Chapter 19

**Another chapter so soon? Oh I spoil you guys so.**

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><p>The duo had left within a few minutes of packing things together for the journey back. It was going to be difficult to make it back in one night while dragging the unconscious troll with them, but both were determined. No stopping or taking breaks, not even for a second. Time was precious and if they squandered it at all then there would be dire consequences for it.<p>

John looked at the troll they carried and sighed as they reached the cliff. This was going to be harder now that he wasn't being foolish. How he had survived was beyond his comprehension. Climbing down that cliff when he was so tired was a bit on the ridiculous side but even so it was worth it. Everything he was doing would be worth it if Karkat survived. Fuck there was so much he wanted to talk to him about.

Jade held out her arms and the troll was placed in them. Grabbing a rope they'd found John held one end and Jade tugged on it to make sure he had a good grip. Despite him being so thin the boy was surprisingly strong, but not the strongest just strong enough. "Alright, I'm going to start descending now." With a nod to each other Jade slowly began to make her way down the cliff side. It was much easier going down than it was to go up.

Once she landed on the bottom John sent everything else down then the rope. He began his own climb down. He'd made sure that Jade would start walking as soon as everything was down there. No wasting time waiting for him. He could catch up. It was more important they got Karkat to the others than for them to wait up and go together.

Landing with a thud as he had let go just a few feet above the ground he grabbed his hammer and other supplies that Jade couldn't grab. Standing he looked around before running to catch up with his sister. He caught up at the same point they'd left Vriska. Both of them stared at it as they passed. "Think she's alright?" the girl asked in a weak sounding voice.

John knew that she cared for the bitchy troll, but he couldn't bring himself to say what he really thought. "I'm sure. She's a tough bitch after all," he spoke softly and smiled.

An hour later Jade could hardly carry the almost dead figure so they switched loads. To be honest with himself John was pleased as punch to be holding Karkat once more. Why it was such a comfort to have him nearby and close was beyond him but he was starting to piece together feelings.

Pulling at her hair at the sight of the meeting hive Jade let out a breath she had been holding. "Oh thank god. I thought we'd never make it."

Chuckling lightly John shifted how he was holding the troll in his arms. "Just about time, almost wanted to take a break." Both of them were worn out and neither were sure how they'd made it this far.

Sadly the trip wasn't over and they still had to get to the hive. It seemed so far away from their point of view. As far as they had come each step felt like a foot and the mile left would probably take the remainder of the day. Even so they continued on, panting and heaving. Jade looked she was about to just give up but they were too close to stop now.

Finally they reached the hive. John kicked the door open, much too tired to attempt any other way of getting the damned thing open. Jade collapsed as soon as she got inside and John was attempting to not fall over while he still held the fragile troll so close. Hearing voices and excited yells he managed to look up just when somebody attempted to take Karkat. Reluctant at first to hand over the precious cargo he finally gave up and collapsed, somebody catching him before he hit the ground


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey hey hey! Not much to say. If I say things I give them away.**

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><p>Everyone stood quickly at the sound of a hard kick to the front door. Sollux waved to everyone to relax while he checked to see who or what it was. Everyone complied and sat back down, looking nervous. John, Jade and Vriska hadn't come back so it was worrisome. None of them wanted anymore to go missing or die. The trolls had suffered enough themselves by the war. Having all but the remaining twelve left from it made them all cautious and fearful of losing another. Granted they all hated each other in some way or another, but even so they didn't want to risk their entire race.<p>

Hearing a yell from Sollux Gamzee reacted the fastest and way by his side in seconds. "It's Karkat, John and Jade." Both searched for Vriska, but didn't spot her. Calling to everyone who it was both of them rushed forward to help their exhausted friends. Gamzee attempted to retrieve his morail from the human boy, who seemed reluctant to let go. But after a second he gave up and was about to pass out cold. Sollux caught John before he could hit the floor. Kanaya had gracefully dived to catch Jade. The rest of the party soon joined the huddle around the door.

Nepeta closed the door with a weary look on her face at the sight of Karkat's condition. Sollux had Eridan help him drag John inside and put him somewhere. Kanaya and Rose took care of Jade for now. Gamzee cradled the unconscious troll in his arms. "You little motherfucker probably have no motherfucking idea how worried the rest of us motherfuckers were." Taking a deep breath he carried Karkat to one of the respiteblocks in this hive.

Rejoining the rest of the group they all exchanged worried looks for the condition of the three new arrivals as well as the missing bitch. Everyone had returned to the group who wasn't asleep, missing, or unconscious at the time being. "So… so what do we do?" Tavros asked as he cuddled up next to Gamzee who looked like he needed a big ol hug.

Sollux looked grim, more grim than usual at least. Eridan was sitting ridiculously close to him, almost making the mustard blooded troll uncomfortable. Aradia was sitting by Feferi as they gossiped about what might or could have happened. Nepeta and Equius were sitting in a recliner together, the cat troll curled up in his lap to be adorable. Kanaya was comforting a distraught looking Rose, who looked concerned for the well being of her best friend, and brother. Dave and Terezi on the other hand were currently not present. He'd told everyone that he wasn't going to budge from watching John, needing to know his best bro was holding up. Terezi was on Karkat watch, to make sure that he wouldn't just slip away. Why she was on that job was a huge question mark to everyone else. Not like she could even see.

The silence was awkward between all of them. The whole reason for coming here was now almost dead and each one of them knew there was no way to turn this around. It was rather strange for them to believe they were about to lose the asshole. After all they'd been through to get him back it was just a waste and everyone had a guilty look on their face. Each and every being in that room knew that in one way or another they'd caused part of this.


	21. Chapter 21

Waking at the touch of a hand on his shoulder John quickly grabbed his hammer. "Hey bro, relax." Opening his eyes he looked up when he heard such a familiar voice soothing him. "Just relax, you look like shit, ok?" Dave never spoke like this, like he actually cared. Usually he was all ironic and acted like a douche.

"What do you mean?" John asked in a confused manner. At the moment he had no recollection of having found Karkat and having somehow made the trip back the base camp. His friend just smiled and sat back; apparently just glad to see that the derp hadn't died on him. "Dave, what do you mean?" he pestered with a frown.

"It's nothing bro. Just chill." Waving his hand for him to shut up he stretched out his legs. "You do not look well is all I meant by anything," he scoffed and lowered his shades to look his friend in the eye. "Will you just chill out now?"

Giving up he laid back with a sigh. "Whatever man." Groaning slightly he rubbed his head, trying to scan his mind for any trace of why he felt like he was missing something. He watched Dave for a minute, as if scanning him too for some answer. Unfortunately his bro could keep a straight poker face even in the toughest of situations. It didn't help at all. Staring back at the ceiling above him John bit down on his lower lip as he tried to form this missing emotion and memory.

After what seemed like forever he jolted upright and stared at Dave. "Where's Karkat? Is he okay? Please tell me he's okay. Dave, you have to let me see him. Right now. This instant." Before the derp could get too far into demanding things the other just held up a hand to stop him.

"Hold those horses still bro. Nothing has changed since you got here, well… other than you three being here I guess." Shrugging in a nonchalant manner he slowly stood and fixed his shades. Always being such an ironic prick. "You need to rest though, leave Karkat to us." Watching John seem to struggle with accepting this the other human slowly smiled. "Please trust us?"

At such a polite tone John was taken aback and stared at Dave for a full minute. "Oh… sure. I guess. Can you still take me to see him?" he asked in his concerned voice.

Wheels starting turning in his head as Dave formed a little plan. He wanted to make sure Terezi was doing fine so this was a nice way to do both things at once. It wouldn't hurt anyone to let John actually see the troll. "Fine, you can go see him." Seeing the concern and gloom evaporate from his friend for a moment almost made the cool kid smile. "But! Since you're weak right now I'm going to have to carry you there." Leaning down he picked up the other and tossed him over his shoulder.

Squeaking in surprise as he was lifted up in such a way John became kicking weakly. "No, I can walk by myself. Let me down."

As much as the boy protested Dave didn't care one bit. "Oh shut up, it's not even that far." With that he started walking towards the room they were keeping the dying troll in. Dave didn't have the heart to tell John that Karkat wasn't actually going to get better or ever wake up again. After the trouble of getting him here in one night he didn't want to think about what that idiot actually meant to his best bro.

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><p><strong>Welp. I think I might take a little break from this fanfic and start another, probably not actually. Dunno... would you guys care to read some of my other JohnKat fics…? I might post them soon.<strong>


	22. Chapter 22

Dave placed his best bro next to the recuperacoon. Inside the strange alien bed was Karkat, who looked pretty peaceful in his endless sleep. It ached to think about what John would do when he finally realized that there was nothing anyone could do to stop the troll's death. Without another word he sat next to Terezi and patted her hand. The blind troll intertwined their fingers; she only did that when she was unsettled or nervous. Slowly she squeezed his hand a bit. From what he had been told Terezi and Karkat had actually been in some form of a relationship at one point. The troll girl had been very vague about the details but he knew that it had been Karkat who broke it off and she still cared for him, even if she was with Dave now. It didn't bother him, as he had also realized that it was merely more of friendship than anything more. Turning away from John and the unconscious troll the two began to chat and distract themselves from such a depressing scene.

The dorky human reached out a hand before it shakily landed on Karkat's cheek. Everything was going to be alright now. They were safe, in good hands, and with friends. He wouldn't lose his roommate and friend after all. No, he was going to be just fine. Nobody seemed to be paying him much mind, so he figured he must be doing pretty well. As John examined the other boy he sensed that he really wasn't doing too great.

Moving closer to Karkat the human looked over him with a scowl slowly settling into his brows. Why was nobody attending him so readily? This made him furious that everyone just seemed so lax about taking care of the troll. Trying to remained calm John looked back at Dave and Terezi, the girl was crying into his shoulder so he decided it was best to leave them be. Although to see her crying was unsettling. What was going on? Everyone they'd passed on the way here had seemed so downcast and avoided even glancing up to see John.

The sudden realization of it made the boy panic. No, oh god no. Reaching over he grabbed the small figure and pulled it close. "Please… don't leave me again," he breathed. Why did he suddenly care so much for the troll? He was insufferable and a pain in the ass. But for some reason thinking about losing him made his heart break. Rose had been mentioning something about something he hadn't realized yet. Was that this feeling? What was this feeling?

Taking his mind off of the questions he placed his hand on Karkat's forehead. He was getting cold. "Hey Dave, could you go get Rose or someone?" he asked in a rather nervous sounding voice. Without even a response he could hear his friend rushing off to find somebody who could be of some use.

Terezi was crawling over to join John. She didn't say anything but merely wiped away her tears and sat by to keep the human company. The blind troll could sense his anxiety about it and with that in mind she wanted to let him know that she was there too.

After what felt like half an hour Dave was back and a few others followed, but it turned out to be almost everyone but Jade, who was probably sleeping, and Tavros, most likely watching over her. "What is it John?" Dave asked as he sat next to him and pulled Terezi onto his lap.

"He's he's…" John was beginning to sputter but Kanaya pushed through and sat on the other side of Karkat. Without a word she checked for vital signs, the entire time trying to seem not so downcast. After a couple minutes she sat back on her haunches and shook her head. He was gone.

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><p><strong>Nothing to say. By the way this isn't the end. ;)<br>**


	23. Chapter 23

Tears spilled down his cheeks, falling upon the dead body. Everyone had left, none of them really wanted to accept it either. Not to mention John had screamed at them all to leave. They'd lied, they had fucking lied to him. All of them were pussies and wussing out when it came to actually telling him what was up. But now it was too late for anything. He was fucking gone, gone… gone. The word kept echoing the way Kanaya had said it right before she left. It had been said so coldly and bitterly he wondered why she seemed so irritated and frustrated.

Those thoughts were buried by sorrow and probably would not resurface for quite some time. John cradled the limp body in his arms. It was impossible to let go. He couldn't believe the troll was gone. He hadn't been able to apologize or even try to make up for everything. What was he supposed to do?

Whimpering as somebody knocked on the door he glanced up and was tempted to tell the person off. However when it was Gamzee his heart dropped. The stoner troll had been Karkat's morail, so he didn't want to make him feel even worse about this whole situation. It was weird to see the normally stoned and happy troll so downright depressed. He felt a little bad for yelling at him earlier.

As Gamzee sat by him John allowed himself to glance up at his face. The makeup was smeared from obvious tears. Did Karkat really mean that much to everyone? Without a word they both sat there next to the dead figure, not sure what to say or do. The silence was overwhelming.

At last Gamzee choked slightly on his tears and the human awkwardly at first placed a hand on the troll's back as comfort. It startled him when the stoner hugged him tightly and tried to contain all of his tears. Shit, John felt really selfish now. Perhaps if everything had been a little different this would never have happened. It was too late to think like that.

After what felt like hours others came in and forced John and Gamzee to leave the room. Nobody wanted to be in there at all. With sorrow hanging in the air everyone continued in their silence, some putting up facades to try to keep themselves together. John was one who just stared blankly at one of the walls as he really contemplated what they were all supposed to do now. Fuck, it hurt to know he just realized all these things and wouldn't be able to share them. So he was a bit lost in his own mind which had left him drained. All this hurt and pain just because he had neglected Karkat. "Idiot," he mumbled and slumped down to curl his knees to chest.

Feeling a hand land on his shoulder the derpy human jumped. "Hey bro, just… wanted to check up on you," said a rather shaken up voice.

Looking behind him John smiled at Dave, even with the shades he could tell that his best friend had allowed a few tears to slip past him. "I-I'll be alright," he lied with a nod.

"I doubt it." Sitting next to him the ironic kid sat against the wall. "But, just don't get all depressed on me and leave as well, ok?"

A smile flickered on his lips at the way Dave had said that, so serious but at the same time held the same teasing manner he always used. "I won't," he promised as they shook hands.

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><p><strong>Next chapter will be up at soooome point. And hell no this isn't the end. Are you guys dumb? This thing is faaaar from over. :| Let's be real now folks. 3 Love you all. If I wasn't so busy with thiiings I'd love to write more. But! Making smuppets and my cosplay are more important. Sorry y'all. Oh, and my job and school. Heeerp.<strong>


	24. Chapter 24

**Okay, I've had enough fun, hehe... 3 Sorry for taking so long guys! D: I've been on the depressed side with a lot of things and couldn't work on this depressing thing. And in case you were wondering this story is faaaar from over!**

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><p>After what seemed like months or weeks, although it had only been a day, there came a time when everyone had reached a conclusion. Dave was leading things around here to keep everybody sane. Equius was sweating too much to take on responsibilities, John was obviously depressed, Kanaya was almost angry, Rose was too busy with her lover, Jade was too sad to do anything, Gamzee was distraught, Tavros had to comfort Gamzee to keep him not sane, Terezi was not a wise choice as she was among the mourning, Nepeta was crushed by the weight of losing the kitty, Aradia was with Sollux and both were attempting to seem calm but everyone knew otherwise, Eridan was glubbing off on his own, Feferi was attempting to make Eridan and Sollux return to each other so she could have Aradia back, so that left Dave to care for everyone. He wanted to be comforting Terezi but overall he knew it was better to get the group back together. It didn't help that Vriska had mysteriously disappeared on them.<p>

After thinking about her for long enough they'd best decided she was either dead or dying and it wasn't worth it to cause more pain to the group by trying to find her. Jade had not taken a liking to their decision and in fact wanted to go look herself. Everyone refused due to her current state. Somehow on the little trip back she had managed to injure herself on something.

Jade was currently staring at the door waiting for something to happen. It'd been an hour before Dave had worked his way over to her after cheering up a couple others. "Hey girl." He sat down next to her and feigned a smile. She had looked up at him scoffed lightly then looked back at the door. This action made the ironic guy frown greatly, he hated seeing her like this. It sort of pissed him off. "Want to grab a popsicle Terezi made?" Terezi had been making popsicles to keep herself and emotions all bottled up, refusing to let people know she cared this much at the time being.

"No, I'm not hungry," Jade said with a little shrug and waited for Dave to leave. When he said nothing for a couple more minutes she finally looked up at him. She was about to tell him to go away when she spotted a tear that dripped down from under his sunglasses.

When the cool kid saw that she had seen the teardrop he bit his lip and looked away. "Y-you didn't see anything," he said quickly and hoping she would merely agree and leave it be.

"Dave... you need to take a break." Jade felt her stomach churn a bit. She hadn't realized how much pressure was being placed on Dave with his current position. It took him a minute to finally look back at her and nod. "See? It'll be alright." Fuck she felt selfish for being so concerned for just her own wants and needs. She hadn't stopped to think that maybe he had just wanted some company of somebody he was close to other than Mr. Depressed Derpy. He wasn't responding though, just sitting there trying to keep his composure together.

Both seemed to understand the need for company for now. Perhaps this would turn out alright after all. There was more drama to await them once everyone picked themselves together. For one Jade knew quite a bit from Rose telling her different things and Dave leaking information as well. Everybody cared for the deceased troll more than they let on.


	25. Chapter 25

At the time nobody was even close to the door now it was hard for anyone to hear the plea from just outside. It'd been decided to lock the doors when they were all in. Although at night sometimes one or two of the group would feel the need to wander outside and take a break from being so damn depressed in there. Yet the plea didn't stop and neither did the fist on the door in hopes that somebody would hear and come to the rescue.

Jade was the one who heard it first and roused a few others to help her discover who or what it was that was banging so rudely at their door. It was the same day but just later in the night. Almost morning which meant many trolls were retiring to bed, the humans weren't tired though. Yet as Jade gathered Dave and Sollux to help her Eridan also offered to come along, which the others begrudgingly allowed him to come as well.

The four slowly approached the door, each having some way of defense or offense at whatever this thing was. Jade adjusted her rifle before unlocking the door. The pounding stopped and a small weak voice asked to be able to come in now. The human girl looked puzzled but set aside her gun, as she did recognize this voice. The others exchanged looks behind her back but graciously lowered their guard by just a tad.

Next Jade opened the door slowly, almost not wanting to see what was behind it. Yet within another second she felt herself pulled into a weak hug, somebody clinging to her and weeping quietly.

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><p><strong>Short short short chapter because my life has been ups and downs lately and I haven't had inspiration to work on this one. But! I will be putting up two other stories soon. ^^ So that means that they'll all update at different times. And it will take more time to update or less, dependent on mood. Sorry y'all!<strong>


	26. Chapter 26

**Oh gosh. I feel like my writing is terrible and I think about all the mistakes I've made while I write this. Forgive me everyone. Also. This damned thing is going to be pretty long in case nobody could guess. D:**

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><p>Jade was frozen in terror. How the hell? Looking back at Dave, who was mildly amused now, she gave him a searching look. She hadn't a clue how to handle this… this recent change of events. This was nothing any of them had expected today at all. "A-ah… umm…" Slowly reaching out she placed a hand on the back of the girl's head. This was awkward yet somehow it was totally normal for all of them. "How'd you find us?" she cooed and tried to coax the weeping lady from crying so much.<p>

At last the green figure looked up and managed to take a deep breath. "You left me all alone Jade!"

"Look, this was important and I know how you get sometimes." Dave was holding back a fit of laughs, asshole. Sollux and Eridan both seemed fine with returning to the couch. "You just overreact is all." Patting the other on the head Harley smiled as bright as she could.

"I-I do not," sniffled the sprite who just seemed glad that she was with her other self again. "Okay, so maybe a little, but I'm getting better," she whined and pulled at Jade's shirt a bit.

"Well come on. Let's go find somewhere to sit down and we can just talk. I do need to tell you about what's… been going on."

"Oh yes! Do tell me what is going on."

Sitting Jadesprite down the other Jade was standing and looking around. It seemed to be that nobody was around, or at least in this room. Slowly she began to explain how things started out with the disappearance of Karkat. She moved onto John and his panic and how he wasn't pulling a single prank on anyone. Then how he rallied everybody together and they all set out for Alternia on a search for the bastard. After she ran through all that had happened Jadesprite was sitting there stunned by the news.

"Ka-karkat is dead? Vriska is missing?"

"Yeah. That sums it all up right now."

"Oh."

It was silent for a good long minute. Neither of them had anything else to say. What could be said after such news?

"I'm going to look for Vriska," Jade said suddenly as she stood with a determined look set on her face.

"W-wait what?" The sprite hovered on the couch looking oddly at her other self. "You can't just do that!" she exclaimed and bit her lip tightly.

"I have to. I can't sit around here moping any longer and with Vriska gone I feel weird about all of this." Jade let out a deep breath and threw her arms up in the air with a slightly frustrated look. "Listen, I'd love to stay and care for all of the broken up people but I can't. I'm leaving and I probably won't be back." Reaching out she took Jadesprite's hand and smiled the best she could. "Don't wait up. Try to hold yourself together, you've been doing so well. Why not try to cheer everyone else up?" she pleaded and gasped for air slightly. Almost on the brink of tears Jadesprite just nodded and pointed to the door. "Thank you. I love you," Jade said softly before hugging the sprite tightly.

Turning on her heels she started to the door, not saying a single goodbye to anyone. There was no need. Nobody would notice for some time. It would be fine. Nothing to worry about. She'd find Vriska and be back. That was all there was to it.


	27. Chapter 27

John had been weeping to himself again while sitting in one of the other rooms in the hive. Unaware of everyone and every little thing that happened the only thing he could think about was how stupid he was for not even having said happy birthday to Karkat. He even had a fucking chance before returning to bed that night. Why hadn't he said those few words? Only three fucking words had needed to be said.

Taking his already injured hand he curled it back into a fist and slammed it into the floor. Or he was about to, before something wrapped around his arm to stop him from letting more blood flow from his hand.

"Hey man, you shouldn't keep doing that."

The voice sparked a trigger in John's mind, causing him to freeze for a minute. It was such a familiar voice.

"W-what? How'd you get here?" he asked as he whipped around, tears still dripping from his chin. His glasses weren't on his face so he was practically blind and couldn't exactly see at this very moment. Before he could begin searching for them the orange figure picked them up and gingerly placed them onto his face.

Now that John had acquired his spectacles he had to pause at the little figure still rather close to his face. Hovering there and looking at him suspiciously like he was trying to make sense of the situation of tears was the little friend he wasn't sure how to explain.

"I think I should be the one asking questions around here," the small sprite said bitterly. He was so tiny and orange it was hard not to find it adorable. The sight of him did cheer John up, but in the back of his mind he wanted to just be left alone to return to his misery and grief.

"Just answer me you little ass," he spat out which caused the sprite to back up away from John. With those tiny shades on it was hard to tell what expression he bore, but John could tell he was only trying to help.

"Calm your tits, I just want to help a bro out." The small figure settled onto the end of Egbert's knee and curled up in a little ball. "Geez, you'd think you'd be a little happier to see me after so long," he merely kept the bitter tone of voice. This little fellow always seemed so bitter.

John took one deep breath to try and get himself in more control over these blasted emotions rolling through him. It would be okay, he was probably worrying everyone now. "Sorry Dave," he mumbled. Davesprite refused to be known as Davesprite if Dave wasn't in the room, it was some weird thing he hated.

"See, chill." He took his tiny arms and made a sweeping motion as he breathed out. Seeing that his pal was finally letting himself relax and become more in control the small bird sprite floated off the knee again, letting out a small peep. "There we go." He realized he was only the size of John's hand but that was fine, it didn't matter to him. He was still trying to help here, be the better Dave. It never helped he was always bitter when anyone mentioned the whole not being the real Dave thing.

John felt his lips twitch slightly, pressing together to form a thin line. "S-so when and how did you get here?" he pressed knowing the more he asked the question the more likely it was the tiny asshat would answer him.

"I tagged along with Jadesprite, because she has those weird god dog powers." He gave a nonchalant shrug and sat on John's shoulder. "So my brother, let me in on this charade of tears that's cursed you."

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><p><strong>Heeeey guys! 3 I love Davesprite but one of my headcanon nonsense things is that he can be tiny or normal size with the help of Jadesprite. Derp. Stupid things are stupid. Here's another chapter, slightly happier? Don't worry. More to come! Sorry if I'm going to make you all cry... maybe I should change one of the tags after the next few chapters. Oh god my writing is terrible.<br>**


	28. Chapter 28

**Hey guys! I've been a bit cramped with school, such as huge papers so I haven't been able to get around to writing this short thing, sorry. :c**

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><p>It'd taken roughly an hour until Davesprite was completely caught up. The little fellow was now perched on the edge of John's knee looking at him. A small peep escaped his mouth before he shuddered. John patted his head with a single finger, a smile twitching at him lips. Alright it'd been awhile since he'd seen Davesprite and he had to say he'd missed him. Dave was cool but Davesprite was… in his opinion better. It was hard to explain the differences. Egbert called him Dave though; it was just one of those things. Hearing another peep he patted the small sprite on the head once again.<p>

"Peep! I think I- peep I get it." Wrinkling his nose at yet another hiccup he looked up at his friend who had that look that a girl would give to a cute puppy. Scowling he crossed his hands with another peep.

John snapped back to reality when Dave had spoken. Having the comfort of being able to tell everything and dump out onto another felt uplifting. Even when he'd begun crying when he got to the part of the whole… Karkat situation Dave had been there and encouraged him to continue. It was nice to have a friend who wasn't giving up on him. "O-oh sorry," he said when he realized he'd started laughing at how the peeps kept coming.

"Yeah whatever, so you seem to be doing a little better now," he grumbled after having recovered from his case of hiccups. "Being cooped up like a bird in a cage isn't doing you any good bro." Dave sat upright and stretched out his tiny arms. "Besides I need to see if Jade can make me big again with those weird witchy powers."

He merely responded with a nod, knowing that if he started to get down on the feathery asshole than he would regret it. After all it wasn't hard to piss him off. That's probably why he hadn't seen him in so long. He was recalling having called him something along the terms of pet like. Yeah, that was probably it.

Scooping Davesprite into his cupped hands John stood. "Yeah, let's go find Jade." Wobbling slightly as he'd stood a bit too quickly he took a deep breath. Proceeding to weave his way through the halls back to the main room he glanced around. Where was everyone? Dave wasn't in here, Jade wasn't in here, actually almost everyone but Tavros and Gamzee weren't in here. Oh and there was Jadesprite too.

"Umm… hey guys where did Jade go?" he asked in a rather dazed voice. Alright, he was still not over Karkat but letting Davesprite catch on was the last thing he wanted to do. Not to mention he really hadn't slept in some time. After having asked the question he noticed that Gamzee and Tavros were both asleep, oops. He bit his lower lip with those buck teeth and turned to Jadesprite who was just floating there waiting for him to pay attention to her. Letting Dave fly to his shoulder John dropped his hands to his side. "So, where is she?"

Jadesprite slowly lowered herself until she was eye to eye with him. "She left." Sputtering slightly he almost fell back, head spinning. Luckily Jade had reached out to catch him, but he'd still passed out, last thing he heard was a worried peep from his feathery friend.


	29. Chapter 29

John was curled up on the couch, Tavros and Gamzee had retreated so they could have the living room. This hive was big enough that is practically didn't even matter if they had in fact stayed or not. Davesprite was stuck small, but he was sleeping peacefully on the arm of the couch. Jadesprite had run off to make sure everyone was doing well. She couldn't just sit by the conked out little kid until he woke up after all. Besides, she'd explained to the little Dave so that would have to be good enough. It was weird though, as there were two Dave's so it was a problem knowing what to call them. She would figure that out for now she needed to go see if she could spot the room where everything went down. Apparently they had all been avoiding the room since that death. Couldn't blame them, it was a bit shocking with the little bastard gone. Quiet, it definitely was too quiet. For some reason with everyone being sad about Karkat's... death it was easier to keep herself up and spirited. There was nobody else that was able to act like this so why not her? It made perfect sense!  
>Busying herself with popping her head in and out of doors she found most rooms had no purpose at all or were cluttered with useless objects. How much shit could one troll have? Collections of just pebbles all in the same shape, troll barbie dolls in the masses, and old gross melted lollipops of strange colors. Alright that last room smelled a bit funky so she was hoping she would find the right one soon. It was easy enough to be able to pop her head in and out as she was a sprite and all, but it was getting frustrating.<br>"One more," she told herself in a low growl. She was just going to give up at this rate. Pressing her head into the next room she froze. Yeah, this had to be it. A trail of red blood went across the entire floor. Yet it led to nothing. No sign of the body or anything. From what she had been told Jadesprite had expected that Karkat's dead body would be around still. Or... did somebody secretly take care of it? The fur around her neck bristled at the very idea.  
>She almost wanted to back out and pretend she didn't see anything but that bright red blood was interesting to say the least. Jade had been told about trolls having different colored blood, but never this bright shade of red. No, it had never been mentioned to her at least. Perhaps it was not something that was an appealing thing to tell.<br>No matter what notion brought this on she'd found herself hovering over the trail and reaching out to touch it. Instantly she withdrew her hand. This shit was still wet. Fresh! Fresh fucking blood. Looking around she felt her heart pounding, no she could hear it. Quickly she whipped around, not sure what she was expecting to see.  
>Of course there was nothing but the pure idea that this blood was fresh was oddly not comforting.<p>

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><p><strong>Sup guys? I decided to surprise you all with a late night update. ^^ Enjoy?<strong>


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